Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 1) — The rehabilitation of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 is now complete, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said.
“We have done this in two months in advance. Pwede nang in-inauguration (This can be inaugurated anytime),” Tugade said during a Cabinet briefing Monday night.
The Transportation chief said train capacity increased to 600,000 passengers per day from 200,000. Train speed increased to 60 kph from only 25 kph, while the headway, or train interval, was reduced to 3.5 minutes from 9 minutes.
The number of operating trains also increased from 6 to 22, but this can still be adjusted to 26, the Transportation chief added.
The improved train system aims to reduce travel time from North Avenue station to Taft Avenue station to 45 minutes from more than an hour.
Tugade also said free antigen testing and vaccination in railway systems in Metro Manila would continue despite the capital region’s shift to Alert Level 1.
Operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 4 will resume on March 28. The terminal has been closed for two years now due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tugade said the resumption of operations at NAIA Terminal 4 would help “increase and augment travel capacity” as the government expects the number of in-bound travelers to hit 10,000 in the coming days after the country welcomed 7,500 passengers on Saturday.
The Transport chief also said ₱2.5 billion has been allocated for fuel subsidy this year and 377,443 beneficiaries are expected to receive ₱6,500 each.
